The First Quarter Quell
by KyofuMizu
Summary: The 25th Hunger Games follows the tale of Ethan Minerva, an unlucky District 3 boy who gets voted for the First Quarter Quell. Ethan is the son of a Victor, but even that does not guarantee his survival in the Games. Part of The Hunger Games: Chronicles Further info about this story can be found here on this link: bit dot ly/MeXXSV
1. Chapter 1

The 25th Hunger Games

**Chapter 1 **

I immediately regret opening my window during the night. As far away the Victor's Village is from the city, the smell of smog still pierced its way into my nose. I pull myself up from the bed too quickly; my head collides into the bunk bed above me.

_Just a regular morning, _I think sleepily_, although tomorrow won't be._

I pull my still asleep legs out from underneath the blanket and pick the glasses left on my nightstand. It takes me a few minutes to realize they are broken, an early birthday present, I suppose.

Every year, my District celebrates my birthday by sending 2 kids to their doom. It's beyond painful to have your birthday the same day as the reaping. The Capitol sends two kids from every district to fight in an arena, "In a pageant known as The Hunger Games." Their logic behind it is that it maintains order. Since when was killing off innocent kids order?

_Right, the rebellion, _I think as I pull one of my spare glasses from my drawer.

Exactly 25 years ago, the 13 districts failed in their rebellion against the Capitol. District 13 was obliterated and the other 12 were scared straight by The Hunger Games. So much for the brave rebels.

I grab my backpack and make my way outside the large building I call home. It beats the apartments that the other kids are forced to live in, but I still feel guilty living here all my life. I didn't even have to win one of the Games to get here; my mother took care of that for me.

I slowly walk down the pavement, shoes coming into contact with blistering cement. Soon the beaten down school building can be seen; of course it's overshadowed by the giant factory behind it. To my left I see a group of girls talking, shaking about whatever topic floats in the cool air around them. Girl talk? No. Hunger Games worrying? Yes.

I look around to see the faces of the possible tributes. From brutes to weaklings, anyone can find themselves inside the Arena. The girls will be mentored by my Mom, who had only recently won. She won the 15th Hunger Games at the age of 16. She was the first Female to win in our District but we have 4 male Victors. They won by luck or wire, never by sword or dagger. Our district is just glad we have Victors; poor old District 12 hasn't even had a single Tribute escape the bloodbath.

My gloomy thoughts are interrupted by the bell. Time to learn about our depressing future making Electronic Toys for the Capitol. I make my way into the Workshop classroom, the sickly sweet smell of soldering causes my nostrils to flare.

My overly enthusiastic teacher greets me with his iconic, "Howdy!"

Forget the reaping, my life is hell as it is and I'm one of the lucky ones. In my seat I notice that what we were working on yesterday wasn't there.

"Okay class," he says behind a fake smile, "Today, in celebration of The Hunger Games, we are going to learn to build and solder a weapon!"

"Is that even allowed?" asks a voice from the back of the room.

The teacher responds with a nervous laugh, "Of course it is!" he responds with his usual enthusiasm.

"You should make Ethan show us! He's probably going to volunteer at the reaping tomorrow!" says one of the class bullies, which is stupid because no one can volunteer this time due to the Quell. Every 25 Hunger Games, a slight twist of the rules are made to provide the Citizens of the Capitol something to look forward to. Months ago, it was announced that every person in the District gets to vote on the tributes. Whoever gets the most votes gets the privilege of knowing that his peers hate him or her. You could guess whom I voted for.

"Now settle down class, any one of you could be a tribute this year" says the teacher in an attempt to bring the class in order.

"I voted for Ethan!" blurts out another bully even though that is against the rules.

"He's practically built for it!" she says pulling my skinny right arm into an ironic flex. The whole class bursts into nervous laughter. I guess the grain of truth that anyone can be Tribute still remains.

"Guess who I voted for!" I snap at the bully, "Cause if we are both going to be in the games, I hope I am the one who gets the pleasure of slicing that smile off your face!"

Immediately, the class falls into silence and the girl pulls away from me. It's taboo to wish death in the games upon someone. Unless of course, the victim is me.

"Go home, Son." The teacher mumbles, smile turned into a droopy frown, "Go see your Mother…"

I leave my Dad's presence and the silent classroom and travel down the hallway, tears in my eyes. 15th birthday tomorrow and I have the odds of being put in the arena. Soon I arrive at my home, Mother at the door. She puts her arms out offering a hug. I can't say I turned down that offer.

I sleep the rest of the day away. Horrible nightmares of people I love getting reaped fill my dreams, nightmares of an alternate reality where my mother lost her games. I awaken to my younger brother, Danny, shaking me in an attempt to inform me of the obvious.

"You were screaming in your sleep," he says plainly with his teddy bear in hand.

"No duh" I say, too angry to realize his concern for me.

"A bunch of mean people at school told me to say goodbye to you" he says, tears in his eyes. "I keep sayin 'Where will he go?' but they keep on shaking their head."

My anger fades from me as I look into his sad eyes.

"Please don't go…" he whimpers as tears fall. My mother realizes his presence in my room and quickly whisks him away to the kitchen for a glass of milk. I fall into another nightmare as his sobbing dies down.

"Goodbye" I mutter in my sleep, "Goodbye, Danny"


	2. Chapter 2

The 25th Hunger Games

**Chapter 2**

I wish yesterday didn't go so quickly. Then maybe I would have something to cling to as I left for the Reaping. People my age stood around me, the sun beating down on our pale faces. Half the crowd had glasses, confirming the stereotype that District 3's children have bad eyesight. My Mom is up on the stage, along with Tin, our most recent male victor. What a dreadful name; who names their kid after their line of work?

"Welcome, Welcome!" beams a lady on stage. She's in her forties I think, but she looks much older. Her skin is dyed deep purple and her face is wrinkle and blemish free but it looks much to tight to be not altered. She has green whiskers and stripes running down her face. She's one of those Capitol freaks that think they look beautiful like that. In reality they look like monsters.

"What a lovely crowd" she says glancing at the emotionless faces of the children of District 3.

"Now as you know, this year is different!" she says a little to happily, "Instead of regular reaping, you got to vote on whom to send. I feel like this Hunger Games will be particularly riveting. Now there has been a slight change in plans, the Arena's setting will change depending on who is the most popular Tribute! So play it well, District 3!"

"Happy Birthday, Ethan!" I hear from behind. I turn and find a group of snickering teenagers. "And may the odds be _ever _in your favor!" they say getting the attention of almost everyone.

"SILENCE!" the lady on stage yells before continuing on with her speech about how the games started. After a dreadful 30 minutes of standing around, I see that she is finally finished with her speech.

"Now, Ladies first" she says as an assistant hands her the card, "The people of District 3 voted Dione Rossi as their Tribute. A big round of applause for Dione Rossi!"

The audience pulls off a weak hearted clap as panicked yelps escape Dione. The Peacekeepers drag her up on stage as her horrified friends and family watch.

"NO!" she shouts attempting to free herself from the arms of a Peacekeeper.

"Someone wake me up!" she yells frantically, "Please!"

Her family's sobbing could be heard as the crowd went silent.

"I volunteer as Tribute!" what I assume to be her older sister yells.

"No no no! There is no volunteering this Games. What an added edge!" responds the lady on stage smiling.

"Please!" her hysterical older sister yells. "I'm begging you!".

Eventually, Peacekeepers drag the older sister away. Talk about adding insult to injury.

"Let's move on from that minor distraction, now the Gentlemen."

A different assistant passes her an envelope. I press my hand to my face as she begins to read off the card.

"Antonio Valer-" she says, only to have her microphone cut off. A large man walks on stage and crosses to her. He whispers something in her ear. I could only make out the words: Son, Tribute, and Change of Plans. The lady on stage nods and hands him the envelope. The man gives her the new one. There's a commotion off to the left, apparently, Antonio Valerius had just fainted but that is not the reason they stopped because soon the lady on stage begins to read it again.

"The people of District 3 voted…" she says pausing to read the name, "Ethan Minerva as their tribute!"

And bam! It's like I'm punched. No wait, someone actually punched me. The Peacekeeper's drag me up to the stage as I spit profanity at the top of my lungs. My legs turn to jelly as I face the crowd of people. My mother, just a few steps away from me, falls to her knees as she hears the death sentence. The cameras make extra effort to get her sobbing on tape.

"Happy Hunger Games!" she wishes us as we are dragged offstage, "And may the odds be _ever _in your favor!"


	3. Chapter 3

The 25th Hunger Games

**Chapter 3**

I'm dragged into a dusty old room somewhere in the Justice Building. Old electronic gadgets line the shelves of the room and dust floats freely in the air. I sit in a comfy sofa with my family. My dad is staring out the window, my mother is on the floor overcome with tears and my brothers are the only comfort I have, too bad one of them is asleep and the other is crying his eyes out.

My older sister walks into the hysteria filling the room. She immediately goes to my mother and starts trying to get her up.

"Mom?" she asks gently, "Something's not right, I don't think Ethan is supposed to be a tribute!"

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Antonio Valerius is the most hated bully in my grade. The day before we cast our votes, my entire grade decided to vote him. That should have sent him to the Arena." She continues.

"Isn't that a bit mean?" my mother says as she wipes her nose with her sleeve.

"Yes, but that's not the point! No one voted you Ethan! Some people don't even know that Mom has kids! Or even a husband for that matter" she says glancing at Dad.

"So what? That means people secretly hate me…" I mumble.

"I think it means that the voting was rigged." She says. Immediately, both my Dad and my Mom reach out to cover her mouth, their eyes wide with fear.

And as if on cue a peacekeeper drags my Mom and me away from the room. Every year, until another female from our district wins, she's forced to go to the Capitol. This time, I have to go along as well.

Soon, we end up facing the swarm of cameras that are capturing our every feature. I have to hold myself from screaming at them, they are using our technology to capture the events of my death. I do make the effort of accidently bumping into this one Capitol lady. It sends her expensive camera into the tracks of the high-speed train. And with a jolt, us boarding the incoming train has been delayed. Peacekeepers drag off the poor lady for, "Attacking a Tribute". Both my Mom and me have a hard time suppressing our grins. The peacekeepers shuffle us into the high-speed train. And the air-lock doors shut with a hiss. Dione and Tin are both already on the train.

"So what should we do?" asks Dione, hand pressed against her face.

"Hope there is wire." Tin says plainly.

"You mean to say we have no chance of winning unless the Gamemakers are feeling nice?" I ask angrily.

Tin responds with a nod. He only won 5 years ago; he won at the age of 17. It must have been rough seeing the tributes from the first year he mentored die.

"Sorry," I say with newfound pity towards the mentor, "So any other advice for me and Dione?"

"Just call me Diane" Diane mumbles, "I hate the name Dione"

Her brown hair is pulled into a ponytail, and her fair skin is freckled with various soldering burns. She is one of the poorer citizens of District 3. The ones who right after school go straight to the workshops to build and design things for the Capitol. I can't help but feel sorry for her, I actually like designing things but the people who end up working in the workshops learn to hate their job.

"Dione's a nice name," my Mom says as she puts on one of her forced smiles.

"Diane's a better one" both Tin and me say in unison. I immediately turn my attention to the outside world.

The train appears to be slowing down, usually it goes 300 miles per hour, but I guess this one goes slower to give the Tributes something to look at. The smog of District 3 slowly fades away, and the mountains of District 2 being to appear from the horizon. District 3 is incredibly close to the Capitol. Only Districts 1, 2 and 5 separate it. Note to self, if we ever try to rebel again, make sure to get District 5 and 11 first. Why didn't they do that in the first place?

"Hey wait a second," Diane says pointing at me, "You and Tesla related right?"

Even though my Mom is a Victor I still find it weird when they say her nickname.

"Actually, her name is Marie." I say annoyed at Diane.

"Right," she says awestruck, "That must have been the reason they voted you!" she continues, forgetting that fact that we must have been hated to even be considered for this year's games.

"Maybe they voted you because of your mouth!" I snap and immediately the smile on her face is gone.

_Great, I'm already making enemies…_

I turn and find my Mother's _You Better Apologies or I'll Get Victor On You,_ face. I shake my head lightly in rebellion. The next thing I know, I'm in my room on the train. Grounded until dinner like some 6 year-old who threw a tantrum. Thoughts about the Games fill my head. District 1 and 2 probably voted the best Careers they have. Diane and me are doomed.


	4. Chapter 4

The 25th Hunger Games

**Chapter 4**

Apparently the Capitol has more to offer than the canned food they give most people in District 3. Most people expect District 3 to be well fed. I guess you could say we are unless you hate having the same exact canned beef they serve us every day. The food laid out on the train's table ranges from veal to apricot stew. Every dish imaginable is there. They give us hot chocolate and other sweets, but the sugars in the food can't distract me from my future death.

Am I depressing? Yes. Am I hotheaded? Yes. Can we move on now?

Diane sits across from me; she looks as if she's watching her prey move. Oh wait, she is. So an alliance with her is out of the question. I wonder what she did to even end up here. The worst people and the toughest people from every District are going to be my opponent. That means my only chance is to make an ally. Obviously, I'm not good at making friends. I think making an ally is going to be harder than winning the Games.

"Ethan, turn around. The Avox has your food ready." Says Tin pointing at the waitress behind me.

"The what?" I ask. I had never heard of an Avox before.

"An Avox," whispers my mother, "They are mute servants of the Capitol"

"Why are they mute?" I ask innocently.

"The Capitol had their tongues cut off because they did a crime," she says as she sips her drink. She looks around the room to see if someone heard her. I feel as if my own tongue has been cut out and it fell down to my own stomach.

I want to ask her why would the Capitol do such a thing but it's suddenly taboo to talk about it. My appetite disappears, just like the tongues of an Avox, and I get up from my chair sharply. I run quickly to my room and shut the door, ignoring Tin and my Mother's panicked knocks.

_My mentors are useless, _I think in my panicked state, _The odds aren't in my favor. If I want to leave alive, then I better start planning._

My two hands are pressed to my temples. The nightmare of the situation I'm in begins to settle. Somewhere in my half conscious state, the lady on stage's words hit me.

"_Now there has been a slight change in plans, the Arena's setting will change depending on who is the most popular Tribute! So play it well, District 3!" _

This time, the Games become a popularity contest. But how can I compare with the personalities of people who are like previous District 1 tributes. They have crowd likeability as one of their District talents. The tributes in District 2 will definitely go for brutal, and the Capitol eats that stuff up. The only chance of me winning lies on a wire, literally. And the only way to guarantee that I get that wire is if I get the crowd on my side. Should I go for brutal? Can I even pull that off? The slight advantage I have with popularity is that I am son of a Victor. They must be talking all about that in the Capitol. I can design weapons out of scraps. But that only works if they see the training footage. And they don't. As far as I know they don't. Hopefully they change that.

I better try to use one of my actual personalities to win them over. I can easily do hotheaded, but how does that win crowds? I could get into a fight with one of the tributes on camera. I could seem completely disinterested in the interview, maybe even yell at Caesar Flickerman. That's actually a good plan.

I face another problem, how am I going to kill? Can I even do it? Will I even last long enough to worry about it? What would the families of the Tributes I kill think? Would I feel guilty? What would I even use? Can I rely on my Mentors? I think I can use Tin, but my mother might burst into tears. Endless questions fill me and the dawn hints at a few answers.


	5. Chapter 5

The 25th Hunger Games

**Chapter 5**

I wake up an hour before we're even supposed to be up. So to pass the time I cast my gaze out the window. Trying to forget my problems is impossible. Escape is impossible. I watch a mockingjay fly by. It's beautiful plumage and grey feathers mock me. The creature that survived when the Capitol didn't want it to. Does the Capitol want me to die? Is that why they rigged the reaping? Do they want to show every Victor that they aren't safe? Am I just an example? I am the only son of a tribute in Hunger Games history. There was this daughter of a Career Victor once, in fact, she won last year. She volunteered and won. Is her winning the reason I'm here?

Another mockingjay seems to have taken a liking to me. It flew in through an open window and now it lies just a few feet from me. How ironic, city raised me befriending a creature of the wild. I find myself whistling a nursery rhyme Danny loves. Hickory Dickory Dock, I think. It's some silly song about a mouse running up a clock. It's sung to our District's younger children to prepare them for their life of toiling with technology. The mockingjay whistles the tune right back at me. As a reward I give it a crumb of bread that is left on the table.

"Well looks like someone's making friends." Says Diane smiling. I didn't even notice her join my company.

"Nightmares?" I ask. She gives me a silent nod.

"Same reason I'm up." I conclude frowning, "Oh look, you scared away the mockingjay."

"Sorry," she says quickly, she casts her gaze out the window with mine.

"You don't have to worry about killing me," she says abruptly, "The odds are that both of use are dead after the bloodbath is over. But if we both survive, would you mind if we teamed up?"

An alliance request! My only chance at winning just popped out of nowhere.

"S-Sure" I stammer, "So what's our plan?"

"Well," she responds, "We're both District 3, so I guess we shock them.."

"We need to win popularity" I say abruptly, "If the arena is a city we could win."

"Looks like we got early birds" I hear from behind. I turn by head and find Tin with coffee in his hand. My mother is behind him with a plate of omelets in her hand.

"I doubt you slept at all when you were on this train, Tin," I say behind a sneer. His smile on his face turns into a frown.

"How did you win anyway?" I say staring at his brown eyes, which are obstructed by a thick layer of glass.

"I see you're going for the hothead approach." My mother says frowning.

"Okay, hotshot, let's cut to the chassis" he said angrily. I think it's an old saying that is modified to fit each District. In 12 it's, "Cut to the chase". In 6 it's, "Cut through the chassis" and so on.

"To win you need an advantage. To get an advantage you need an arena that fits your skills. We run into a problem, you're from District 3. The skills you have only apply to cities." He says in an annoyed tone.

"So we try and get popularity to get an arena based off District 3." I conclude. I try to wrap up the conversation as fast as I can because I'm starving.

"And you use it to get sponsors." He says gloomily.

"So do I get in a fight with a Tribute on camera before the games start?" I ask.

"Yes, I have a specific Tribute too," my mother says, "His name is Bough, he is a Tribute from District 7 and he is the biggest Tribute this Hunger Games."

"So a tiny District 3 Tribute is going to rough it up with the big bad District 7 Tribute." I say, already regretting the plan.

"How does he make sure he doesn't get beaten to a pulp?" Diane asks, for some reason she's shaking. With concern for me? I doubt it.

"He'll figure it out," dismisses Tin, "Then you yell at Caesar Flickerman too."

"What!" cries out Diane, "Over what and why?"

"Why? Because his attitude is his only chance at survival. Over what? I don't know he'll figure it out. Oh and that reminds me, you two need to act as partners in crime."

We both cast unsure glances at each other.

"I want you two to train together. To act like best friends even if the circumstances of your alliance includes who gets what stuff when they die. You act like a hothead while Diane acts like foxy bad girl. Understand?" he says calmly.

Both of us want to object. To scream our objections, but deep down I know I am hothead. And from what I know of Diane, she could convincingly portray a bad girl.

"Laugh at each others jokes! Eat together! Train together! Talk in training! Gossip about a person at home in front of the camera! Do anything to make you seem edgy, rude and mean-spirited." My mother says enthusiastically.

We both sigh at the same time. Would we even be friends if this never happened? Maybe if I wasn't so hostile… she's even kind of cute.

I take a step back. Where in Panem did that thought even come from? Two tributes falling in love is suicide. The odds are that they end up dead or even end up killing each other. I'm already feeling sorry for any tribute that has or will end up falling in love with another tribute. Even being friends is a stretch! This plan could potentially backfire and end up with both of us dead.

I take off my glasses and rub my eyes. Then a thought hits me. I glance over my shoulder and look at one of the camera crew who is just enjoying his breakfast. I motion him to walk towards us. He takes his camera with him.

"Ethan what are you doing?" Diane asks unaware of my plan.

"Listen, I need help winning over the crowd," I say to the cameraman, " Mind if taking a shot of this and having your boss put it in one of those, "Weighing the Odds" spotlights?"

He gives a silent nod and positions his eyes on the camera. He gives me a thumb up and a red light glows from a point on the camera.

An unfriendly sneer takes over the neutral expression that coats me 24/7. My hands close around my glasses and with a crunch the glass and metal break. I swiftly throw the shards at the camera, making extra sure that the lens ends up scratched.

"Get that useless pile of bolts out of my face," I say aggressively as I smack the camera from the smiling cameraman. He makes sure that the footage survived the ordeal and walks his merry way to his boss.

"I think that means he likes that idea." Tin says. By the tone of his voice, I could tell that I must have been his only Tribute that actually listened to him.

"What about you Diane?" he asks in an annoyed tone. She responds with a sigh and walks towards a random chef.

"Hey you!" she says angrily while cameras train on her, " You messed up didn't you?"

"Excuse me?" the confused chef asks.

"I didn't get my omelet!" she suddenly yells and before he even has a chance to react she give him a painful slap to his right cheek. She storms away and pulls me by the sleeve to the next train car while cameras capture our performance.

"Good job," I whisper as she drags me away.

"Thanks." She says smiling, "This might be the best last couple of days of my life."


	6. Chapter 6

The 25th Hunger Games

**Chapter 6**

Diane and I sit gazing out of a window like two 5 year olds. For one thing the Capitol did not lie about its beauty. In fact, I think the cameras have not quite captured its elegance. I bet every Tribute has had similar words pop into their brain when seeing it. Pearl columns rose to support buildings and glass works of art glinted in the sunset. Just the mere sight of it almost made me forget that I was being transported to my death. Almost…

"Beautiful isn't it?" asks Diane right next to me. I guess the cameras are waiting for me to say, "Yes you are" or something. I'm having a hard time being her friend; I don't think I could pull off a lover approach.

"Beats District 3" I mumble as we pull into the station. In a blur of movement, we meet our prep team. Strange folks is an understatement, one of Diane's team has a rainbow running down her face. Well, I think it's a her…

"Ethan, this is your prep team." My mom says without emotion.

Venus has hair that resembles a red velvet cupcake. It's completely straight and without a flaw. She wears a uselessly frilly white dress and her skin is died a pink color. Cupid is a very young looking stylist. She stands at about my height and she's wearing heels. Her babyish face almost makes her look like a cherub if it wasn't for her lime green eyes and eyebrows. Her hair is dyed light blue and she wears the same color as her eyeliner. But these freaks don't prepare me for what Phobetor was. She had what looked like fox ears atop her head, and her face looked as if it was reconstructed to look like a fox. She had what looked like fox fur covering most of her, and she even had what looked like fox eyes. She was essentially an Anthropomorphic Fox. Just the idea of that gave me shivers.

"What on Panem are you?" asks Diane obviously trying to continue her bad girl role.

"Some freak from the Capitol obviously" I say loudly, playing along with Diane's idea.

"Excuse me!" she yells out in her annoying Capitol tone. Her mood switches from anger to sadness to pure depression as her face contorts to fit with every emotion. Watching the emotion fit with the fox face is something I am surprised to say is amusing. Eventually they lead her off to some place where they wont see her cry in public.

"Hi!" beams from behind; before I even turn around I could tell it's my new Stylist. She's become a legend over in District 3, every year she dresses the Tributes up in something that turns head. But that's not why she's known. She is this mess of nerves that has the chance of breaking down no matter what the situation is. Her name is Gaia but her nickname according to the residents of District 3 is Lunatic. She even responds to the name Luna.

"Luna…" I whisper as she tackles me into a hug.

Her voice is a mess of sound that I have a hard time unraveling, I think she's bouncing around with excitement over the fact she worked for my mother once but she might as well have been raving about how her silly little head works. Just as I think I'm about to pass out from the lack of air, she gets separated by me by a shaking cane. Chronus fits his name well, he looks withered by time and the elements. He overall looks like a regular old man, except for his neon green skin. He clutches a cane to walk and it's a mystery on how he is still a Stylist.

In another flurry of movement, we're whisked away to an area where they will work on us. They have to work on getting us presentable. So in other words they turn a mess of a Tribute into a shiny mess of a Tribute. I find myself standing half naked in front of my Prep Team, each of them holding tools that they have to make me look like a proper Tribute.

They attempt to cut my hair, but every time they get close to it, I scream objections at the top of my lungs. Eventually they break down and just agree to clean it. After that monumental task is done, they swiftly go to work on cleaning my closely bitten nails. They anticipate the state of them and quickly apply something that makes them grow before my eyes. The rest of it passes painfully slow and the chattering of their voices slowly becomes white noise. They argue whether or not I will win. Venus thinks that I have a shot, while Cupid and Phobetor are arguing whether or not the boy from District 4 or District 2 will kill me. They come to the conclusion that I'll die in the bloodbath. Whoops! I accidentally tripped and rewired the hair dryer to explode.

Cupid storms out of the room crying as her blue hair slowly burns. So that's two down, one to go. But before I could think of how to get Venus mad at me, they declare me finished and summon Luna. She skips into the room holding some circuit board green suit. With painful speed, she quickly slips the tuxedo-like garment over me. At first, I'm confused because the only thing that resembles District 3 in the suit is the color, but with a press of a switch, the whole suit transforms into the city like view of a computer chip. Every movement sends lights traveling throughout my body. I soon realize that the circuits are actually real and have the potential to short circuit. That thought brings my mood up.

"Thanks Luna" I say politely. She goes into her super-fast talking state, there she blabbers on about how she had to learn Circuits and NOR and XOR gates and stuff. She says how she has been secretly working on this one for years and she was saving it for the Quarter Quell. After that, her words become nonsensical and too fast paced. I tune her chittering out and focus on what matters.

So my current plan for the games is to run into the Cornucopia with Diane. We both agreed that we're fast enough for it but survival is another question. Both of us are going to grab two backpacks and then meet up. Then my plan falls apart at this part. I spend the next hour thinking of what to do next but keep coming back to the conclusion that I'm going to die. I shut those thoughts out a tune back into he real world.

"Helloooo! Earth to Nerd in Tux!" I hear from my right. Diane's standing right next to me and we're in some room.

"Wait! Where are we?" I ask as a turn my head from side to side.

"We're about to go into the Games…" she says in a tone that almost makes me believe her.

"Nah, I'm just messing with you," she says smiling at my reaction, "We're about to go on the chariot ride."

I take a look at her dress. The green fabric flows in a nearby breeze along with her hair put into a ponytail. Her smile catches me off guard and I find myself smiling at her too. We both quickly turn away blushing knowing that the camera are probably on us. Whether or not we did that for the cameras are up for debate.

Standing atop the horses about to march us in front of a crowd, I turn on the suit from a switch hidden in the pocket. The green fabric again bursts into the city of circuits it was earlier. Also in my pocket is a measly paperclip that I snuck in. As the horses for District 1 start I almost lose my balance atop the chariot, Diane quickly grabbing my arm saves me. The crowd cheering slowly turns into a distant roar, and my face takes an even redder color, but even as our horses start, she doesn't let go.

We raise our hand into the air as if we already won the games and a smug smile fills my face. The face of a Victor, on the face of a death-bound tribute. The crowd goes wild at the sight of us. The flashing light of our chariot enhances our smug grins. The crowd goes wild and screams our names. The little incident on the train had pulled off. And as we hit the halfway mark, I signal Diane to start the nefarious plan I came up with moments before it started.

The paperclips slipped from our pockets and into our hands. My right hand quickly goes to work bending the paperclip into a straight line. I bend that in half and we both release the grip from each other at the same time. We search our sleeves for the right terminal and attach one end of the paperclip to it. We attach the other end to another wire and the suit goes into overdrive. We quickly join raised hands again. The lights on it are flashing even as we remain still and the suit seems to be smoking. The crowd holds it's breath but that moment passes as they see our triumphant faces.

We look like some ethereal being with the smoke rising from us and just as the horse slows to a stop the smoking stops along with it. While President Snow makes his speech, Diane and I look for another correct terminal. We position the paperclip in the right spot as he closes up the speech. He wishes us all a happy Hunger Games and as begins to say, "May the odds be _ever _in your favor." Our suit flashes so brightly that even he looks over to see. The light remains enough for the crowd to notice and for them to take it in. They begin to cheer wildly and attempt to throw roses at our departing chariot. We wave our last goodbyes and we're out of sight.


	7. Chapter 7

The 25th Hunger Games

**Chapter 7**

"That was amazing! BUT DON'T OVER DO IT AGAIN" says Luna first in a star struck fan voice then quickly switching to an angry one.

"Well, they definitely liked the touches you added," says my Mom. Despite her enthusiastic smile on her face, I could see the dark shadows being cast under her eyes.

"Okay!" concludes Tin with a wineglass in his hands, "How about you two go off into your rooms and don't go out of your rooms and sleep because your about to learn survival skills tomorrow. I must emphasize don't go out of your rooms."

"Luna, will you be a dear tomorrow and take them to the training area tomorrow?" asks my Mom in an attempt to not set off the bomb that makes up Luna. But to no avail as Luna starts bouncing around with joy and excitement.

"I'll take that as a yes" my Mom says in defeat.

After a few dozen rounds of attempting to calm down Luna, the just order a sleeping pill and slip in into the wine she's been furiously sipping. Almost instantly she sinks to the ground snoring; two servants drag her to her quarters and another two direct us to ours.

Our room is on the Third floor, as it is designed for District 3. Each District gets their own floor, 12 gets 12, 4 gets 4, etc. My room turns out to be directly across from Diane's room. So after the Avoxes leave, she sneaks into my room.

"Okay, first things first!" she says frowning, "Do we need more people in our alliance? How many people are going to be in it?"

"I don't see why we need more people" I say plainly.

"Oh okay, Two weaklings from 3 versus 6 Careers" she says in an annoyed tone.

I let out a sigh, putting it that way makes us seem like we were from District 12.

"Fine," I say under my breath, "Maximum of 3 though"

"Okay who?" she asks quietly, I think she heard a sound from the hallway.

"The girl from 12 looks like she'll be a great survivor!" I say sarcastically.

"Be serious! "She says, attempting to cover a smile.

"Okay what about the menacing boy from 4?" I say still attempting to make light of the situation.

Just as Diane is about to give me a punch for my refusal to take things seriously, I hear a noise from the door. I barely get a glance at the intruder, but her short cut hair and sea green eyes make it obvious she's from 4.

"Hey!" Diane yells as she runs after the girl. I sprint after her too but then I quickly notice how fast we caught up to her. Apparently, both Diane and I run fast. The girl, despite our speed, makes it to the elevator. She waves goodbye as the clear door of it closes and lifts up, taking the information with her.

"GAH!" Diane yells as she pounds the door.

"Careers are so annoying!" she says as she walks slowly back to her room.

The click of a lock confirms that Diane has given up on her attempt to plan. I stumble my way to my bed where I continue my endless loop of nightmares. Half way through my dream, it suddenly shifts. A fire catches and sends sparks flying across all over Panem. A boy of my District electrocutes the remaining tributes while sacrificing the life of his partner. A girl goes into the games and leaves through luck, but insane. And I see Diane crowned Victor, frowning with tears in her eyes. Caesar Flickerman asks her about me and she falls into tears. And soon my nightmare shifts into morning.

"WAKE UP!" screams Luna at the top of her lungs. At first I flinch because I am pretty sure that this was one of my nightmares, but then I get out of bed along with all of the other Tributes woken by her voice.

"Yeah…" says my mother lightly as if any more sound would destroy the building. Dark shadows circle her and surprisingly Luna's eyes. I guess Luna got attached to her little Tributes.

"Breakfast then training" calls out Tin from the hallway. I rush from my bed and follow the mob of hungry Tributes. The boy from District 2 gives me a harsh look with his blood red eyes. The District 4 boy does the same but smiling afterwards; I think it's either due to my great personality, or my bedhead.

After a heavy Capitol breakfast, Diane and I make our way to the Training Area where we are one of the last to arrive. Well, technically the boy from 12 is the last to arrive but we're one of the last noticed.

"All right." Says a younger looking lady. She looks young enough to be one of the Tributes. She gives us a quick list of all of the stations and quickly marches off to some other room. The Careers immediately go to sword practice and start chopping the heads off Tributes… I mean dummies.

Diane and I stick together most of it. We make rude comments about a few tributes. Get into a fight with another. Send one to the infirmary from, "slipping". But eventually I find myself wanting to go try Archery while Diane wants to try Swordplay. Once I realize that the District 2 girl is hogging the Archery station, I stumble upon the girl from District 12 using the camouflage station to write names on the ground.

"Hi!" she says without looking up from the ground. I look behind me just in case she was talking to her District partner or something.

"What are you doing?" I say with my aggressive tone replaced with a curious one.

"Making sure I have all of the names of the Tributes down." She says as she writes Diane's name near the number 3.

"Ethan right?" she says, finally looking at me. Her blond hair and grey eyes throw me off at first. Most District 12 Tributes have either brown hair and grey eyes or blond hair and blue eyes. But then what throws me off next is the presence of determination, which is something District 12 lacks. Even her District partner is just sitting in the knots station tying a noose over and over.

"I'll take that as a yes." She says frowning at my silence.

"Sorry, it is Ethan. What's yours?" I say, I wasn't really paying attention to District 12, I think it's Miranda or something.

"Cassandra," she says, oh well close enough.

"Okay Cassandra," I hear from behind, the District 2 girl has taken a break from her Archery, "What is learning everyone's name going to do?"

"Well Pummel," she answered calmly, "It helps organize things for me. So I can match a Tributes Weakness to their name. Oh, lets use for example, your weakness."

"My weakness?" Pummel says taken aback by the girl's audacity.

"Yes! You aim a little to the left. So if I am about to get shot by you, I know to dodge right!" Cassandra says angrily. Pummel goes back to the Archery station mumbling curses about District 12.

"Why don't you try talking to Bash!" Cassandra yells barely within earshot.

"Wait, Pummel and Bash?" I say, finding their names hilarious.

"You should see Folly and Pastel!" she says smiling while pointing at the District 1 Tributes. So the rest of the first day of training passes with me talking to Cassandra. I head to my room but I notice how gloomy Diane's been.

"What wrong?" I ask, as she is about to enter her room.

"Nothing," she replies sadly, "I just realized how doomed we are."

And with a slam of a door, I know that trying to convince her is pointless. At least for now. I spend the whole night tossing and turning.

The rest of the training passes quickly. I spend a lot of time with both Diane and Cassandra. And when she masters knot tying and edible plants, I decide I want her in our alliance too. When I'm with Cassandra, Diane runs off to the District 12 boy and tries to convince him to talk with us. But by the second day, he just sits in the camouflage station until it is time to go. Diane and I plan out what we're going to show the Gamemakers. While she is unsure, I decide to do something electric related. I don't know what and frankly, I'm too sleepy to care. So when the morning light pierces my fake window, I groan and wander to the Training Center.

Tin explains my schedule. Today, we have to impress the Gamemakers. Tomorrow we prepare for our interview. The next day, our interview. And then the day after that, I'm in the games.

Tin points out that while there are no Electrical supplies provided for us. They don't mind if we borrow from other sources, such as the lights or a fusebox. And with a pat of a back, he sends us into the room filled with Tributes.

The order is by District and boy then girl. So the eager District 1 boy walks his way to the Training Area waving. When I make sure he could see me, I flip him off. The lack of expression on his face tells me that that isn't a curse in District 1.

Someone tells me that the session with the Gamemakers will not be recorded. And part of my hopes is dashed. But as the District 1 girl enters, Cassandra moves next to me.

"Hey Ethan!" she says happily, "What are you going to show the Gamemakers?"

"I can make explosives… or uhh. Electrocute a dummy?"

"I'll keep an ear out for an explosion," she says. She scurries off when Diane starts walking towards me.

"Hey can you do me a favor and say, 'Hi,' to the District 12 boy?" she says pulling my arm. I groan and follow her to the sad excuse of a Tribute with his face down on a table.

"Good luck Bash!" cries out Pummel as he goes to the Training Area.

"Cheer him up?" Diane pleads, for some reason; I start to feel jealous of the District 12 boy. I quickly shove those feeling to the bottom of my heart and try telling lame jokes. After he ignores that, I get angry and start yelling at him.

"You useless waste of space!" I yell but he continues to ignore me, "I bet you'll blow yourself up at the beginning wont you?" I say angrily.

Diane responds with a punch to the back. But the boy looks at me with sad eyes and nods. Diane starts to get furious and starts clawing at my back. Luckily her nails are stubs from the lack of sleep.

"Ethan," I hear Cassandra say from across the room, "Your turn."

My anger switches with fear. And I turn to the door. I make a slow walk there, noticing how every eye is trained on me. Even the District 12 boy looks my way. I nervously enter the Training Area, all of the Gamemakers have their eyes locked on me. I take a nervous gulp, and then pick up the trident in one area.

I spend most of the time fiddling with the trident, attaching wires to it. Getting a battery from a fusebox. Doing the expected. I do a small test fire and a slight sound indicates that this thing is lethal. With a smile, I hold it triumphantly in the air and the Gamemakers look my way again.

I stick the end of the trident in a ballistic gel dummy, making sure that I have my hands on the safe part of the weapon. At first, I don't notice the sprinkles of sulfur coating the dummy. But by the time I do, I already hit the switch.

My eyes widen in fear, but some part of me decides to stay put. A loud explosion booms from the dummy, splattering the gel all over walls and Gamemakers alike. The sound echoes across the room and I am 100% sure that even the Tributes heard it. I hear applause from the Gamemakers and a single applause coming from the waiting area. I guess Cassandra got her explosion after all.


	8. Chapter 8

The 25th Hunger Games

Chapter 8

Diane, Tin, My Mom and Luna sit around a television screen. Tin puts head in his hands after hearing what I did. Luna even tells me that I might get a 0.

Diane is pacing nervously across the room. Our Training Scores are an important part in determining whether or not we get sponsored. Soon the program begins and Caesar Flickerman stands in his blood red suit and hair. He talks about the tributes. Even asks the Head Gamemaker, who is with him, which Tribute left a lasting impression on him. He responds with a smile, "Definitely the District 3 Tributes"

Tin nearly falls out of his seat. And my Mother's face forms a quick smile. Luna throws a wide grin and shakes my hand while speaking to me in a fast voice. Even Diane, who has been gloomy recently, smiles.

Caesar reminds everyone that the Arena's appearance depends on the most popular tribute. Then, they start going through the list. All of the Careers get a score around 8, except one, Bash who gets a 10. Now for us.

"District 3 Tribute, Ethan Minerva, received a score of…" I hear from the TV.

Every person in the room leans forward in their seat. And as the number is called, Luna faints.

"10!" Caesar says smiling. We rush forward to help Luna up from off the ground. After a while, I get bored of trying to help her and cast my attention to the program.

Diane scores a 7. But besides me, no one seems to be even congratulating her. The program passes on, and no one else but me pays attention. The rest of the tributes get relatively low scores. The lowest is a 2 for the District 12 boy. But the last Tribute changes that.

"District 12 Tribute, Cassandra Wellington, received a score of 9!" they say smiling. Since her partner just got the lowest scored in Hunger Games history, this feels like a big contrast. When Luna does come to, she just starts crying on the floor for some reason.

At that point, I don't feel like dealing with Luna. I stroll to my room, not noticing the blond shadow that follows me. I enter my room and sigh, and jump into the bed. When I open my eyes to a rustling, the District 4 girl stands before me.

Instead of yelling profanity, I decide to play along, "Hello. Are you here to kill me already?"

"How'd you get a 10?" she asks, It appears she doesn't like to waste time.

"Secret" I say smiling.

"Ha ha, very funny. Will you just tell me already."

"Why? So you could tell your little Career friends?"

"I'm not in the Career Pack!" she says angrily as she grabs onto my hands.

Somewhere in my mind, memories of her being alone at training surface.

"I made a ballistics gel dummy explode." I say blankly.

"Was that so hard?" she asks, she lets go of my hands and let it fall to the bed.

From the door way she turns and says softly, "Good luck". At least that's what I think she said. Because in the morning I have a hard time deciding if that is a dream or reality. Diane shakes me awake 2 hours before it's time to wake up. We pass the time by having a discussion on whether or not the Career Tributes get nightmares.

Luna opens the door and finds us talking. She isn't in her usual hyper personality, but she is still wearing a big smile.

"Don't tell me you're in charge of helping us with our interview?" Diane asks, horrified of the idea.

"I am!" Luna responds angrily. She drags us to the dining hall and we have our usual large breakfast. She explains that half of the day; one of us will be with her. The other half, we'll be with Tin and my Mom.

I'm unlucky enough to get her first.

The entire time she keeps on pestering me about little habits I have. I slouch, I roll my eyes too often, I bite my nails. So she puts a back brace thing on me that helps me sit up straight. They put something on my nails that I can't bite through. Just when I think she's about to tape my eyes to one spot, it's my turn with the Victors.

I whisper, "Help me." as I pass by Diane in the hall. This back brace is starting to hurt.

The first thing they say to me when I walk in?

"What on Panem did Luna do to you?"

They start to go over what should I do, how should I act. In short, I am supposed to act hostile and rude. In shorter, I have to act like myself.

"Act like you won" I hear from behind as I walk to change into the thing Luna picked out.

Do they really think I could win? Does anyone think that? No, I don't want to win. If I win, Diane dies. If she wins, I die. Nothing could change that, Ever.

Surprisingly enough, I'm dressed in comfortable clothing. Regular clothing, nothing freaky or glowing. Luna pats my back and looks at me with sad eyes.

"My sister was in the games." She says abruptly. That takes me off guard. I always thought she was from the Capitol.

"No, I'm from District 1. I moved here after I became a famous clothing designer." She says quietly. I wonder if her sister won.

"She was killed in the bloodbath. Which was odd because she is what you call a Career. They kill her because she didn't want to join the Career pack."

I never thought Luna would have any sad backstory.

"She was reaped. A lot of people wanted to take her place, but she didn't let them. Her best friend was also put in the games. He volunteered though."

But before she could continue to read my mind, a person ushers me to the stage. Bright dazzling lights flood my vision. And an image of Caesar Flickerman, with his hair blood red surfaces. The tributes sit out to the side. Organized by District, so our District is going to be one of the first up. A curious crowd awaits beyond the stage. Hair colors completely unnatural range all of the colors of the rainbow. The tributes, with their normal look to them, talk among each other waiting for the start.

Pastel first. The District 1 Female. First the girl will go then the boy then the next District starts. Caesar's twinkling midnight blue suit starts to give me a headache and I turn away. Pastel talks about her 8 and how she was rooting for a 10. I swear, all of the cameras turn to Bash then me. She continues with her sickening frilly display until a buzzer sounds. She waves a roaring audience goodbye and Folly takes his place. He plays a humble boy from District 1. Which seems out of place with his piercings. But the audience falls for the gig and lets out another wave of applause for him.

Pummel goes on about how much she loves the Capitol. It's obvious she is trying to have a sexy look to her. Applause, then Bash. He barely answers the question. Going for a hostile but reserved personality. Yes, No, Yes No. I all I hear from stage. But then Caesar starts asking better questions, and then it becomes obvious how much of a ruthless killer he is. Caesar asks him about his 10.

"It would have been much better if I was the only one with it." He says obviously looking at me. I roll my eyes and the audience starts laughing. I see Diane, more nervous than she has ever been in her entire life. She could be dead in a few hours. The games are tomorrow.

A buzzer sounds. And Diane makes her way up to the stage. She's dressed in a skirt. Not one that makes her look sexy or provocative. But one that feels right on her. She looks different from the other girls in District 3. The Denim of her and my outfit makes us seem. Rebellious. Different. Out there.

Diane sighs during the audience's frantic applause for Bash and then boasts and arrogant smile. District 3's female version of its theme plays and the crowds is almost in hysteria at her. And then the interview begins.

"Hello Dione!" says Caesar smiling.

"Diane. It's Diane." She says in an annoyed tone.

"That's not what it says on the card," responds Caesar. The audience bursts into laughter, "So tell me about District 3."

"Oh _such_a dreary place!" she says imitating Pastel's accent, "In fact I have no idea how I deal with it without Ethan…"

The audience lets out an aww. But before Caesar could ask about it, she continues.

"And his Victor money." She says jokingly. The audience and a few tributes laugh.

"Why do you think you were voted?" asks Caesar behind a funnily serious face.

"Because of my sunny personality!" she says sporting a fake smile.

"What about Ethan's personality? Is he as sunny as you are, my star?"

"He's sullen, hostile and moody." Just what they told her to say, "I love that. Plus he's clever and not afraid of others."

The crowd responds with whistles.

"Well, Diane, we appear to be running out of time." Says Caesar glancing at a timer, "But one quick question, we've all been dying to know. Are you romantically involved with Ethan?"

I blush. She doesn't. I turn my face away from the cameras. The audience has suddenly gone quiet, making sure they hear what ever comes next.

"Well Caesar, I…" she begins but she is interrupted by the buzzer and the complaints of the audience.

"Thank you Diane Rossi! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

My turn. I want to panic but I wont let them see a mess of nerves.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome. Ethan Minerva. Rebel at Large!" booms Claudius Templesmith.

_Is that the phrase they came up for me?_ I think as I make my way up the stage. If I thought Diane's crowd was hysterical, I guess what I received was a step above hysteria. The crowds roared in a way meant for a victor. And every clap sent my confidence skyrocketing. A sneer shows on my face. But I cant help but remembering the 23 soon to be dead. 23 dead, 1 Victor. That's how this works.

"Ethan! You've caused quite a conundrum here in the Capitol." He says wearing a similar sneer. Is it me or some of the girls in the audience faints?

Caesar recognizes this and uses it to his no my advantage.

"Tell me what do you think about being a crowd favorite."

_Oh God, what do I say?_

"It's alright I guess. Get creepy though. Some chick got my name tattooed on her arm." The audience bursts into laughter, some of it nervous. I bet there is at least 1 lady who did do that.

"Moving on then, I would like to be the first to congratulate you for scoring a 10." He says in a slightly nervous way.

"Too late. 36 other people already did. And to be honest, that subject gets old. Whoop de do, I blasted a hole in the Training Area. So what?"

Some of the crowd gasps some of it laughs. I glance over at the Head Gamemaker, with his hands pressed against his face.

Caesar seems even more nervous. As if he senses my incoming plan.

"Do you plan on joining the Career Pack?" he asks. No doubt will they show the pictures of the careers. Pastel, Folly, Pummel, Bash and the District 4 male. Do I want to join them?

"Fuck no!" I hear a bleep from a screen, "I hate the District 2 male. And don't even get me started on Folly." I say with an eye roll.

The audience laughs.

"If they wont be your ally? Who will, you know besides Diane?"

Shoot, I didn't think of this question. Uhh List of Tributes… Best of the Tributes.

"Yeah actually," I cast my glance on the only Tribute I could think of, "I would like to formally request that the District 12 Female, Cassandra, would join my little group."

The cameras train on her. She blushes and sinks in her chair. I start to feel sorry for her.

"I'll put that as undecided." I say in an attempt to bring the cameras back to me. The audience laughs and no doubt are they talking about why I want her on my team. After a while of murmuring, the Q and A starts again.

"So, Ethan. Are you romantically interested in Diane?"

Am I? I don't know honestly. In fact, I don't get much choice. In our District, Love is not our choice. We are assigned to people. And they call it marriage. We don't choose. We don't get the luxury of it.

"Does it matter?" I say, later I will find myself surprised at my anger, but for now my anger is real, "In case you didn't know. Out in our District, we don't get a single word in for our spouse."

I remember my mother telling me this. How she felt reluctant to be forced to marry my Dad.

"So even if we do, we will never be together." The audience waits for me to continue. To say I do. But honestly, I don't know myself.

"So is that a yes?" he asks innocently.

Once there was this one time where my bully of an older brother was able to blame me for a house fire. He did it in that annoyingly innocent tone. I was whipped for it. I still have the scars on my back to prove it. And I was 9 at the time. I was lucky to have survived. Maybe if I didn't survive I wouldn't be in this mess.

"How about we move on you bloody freak!" I bark angrily. I ignore the crowds gasps and walk to my seat. Seething in anger. I sit down next to a smiling Diane and oddly enough, the smiling District 4 girl. She gets up as if her turn began. And District 4's Female theme starts playing. She looks back at me and smiles. For some reason, this grabs my attention.

She goes on how much she hates her District Partner. How much she would rather be with a person like Bash or Ethan.

_Wait! _I think, _Did she say, "Ethan?"_

The questions continue about how interesting I have been as a contender. And how good my performance at the Training Center was.

And she goes on, always making reference to me. I come to the conclusion that she is trying to leech off my fame and earn Most Popular for herself. She is going to eventually use it as a springboard and surpass my fame. But she doesn't. Cassandra finishes her witty interview and returns to her seat. In 10 minutes, the most popular Tribute will be announced, and the arena will be announced. 10 agonizing minutes of resisting the urge to bite my nails. They are probably talking about us now. Making guesses at who will be the top.

Soon but not soon enough, Caesar Flickerman takes to stage holding a card in his hand. He gestures to the screen.

"The top ten Tributes of the 25th Hunger Games!" The screen flashes to life and it shows the number 10 on it. He explains that the name will be shown and the arena that would have been picked will be displayed.

Numbers begin to flash by my eyes. 10. Gabriela with a charming seaside resort like setting. 9. Bacchus with an abandoned island. 8. Folly with a seemingly perfect landscape that shifts to a horrible nightmare. 7. Bough with fields of grain and a pine forest. 6. Diane with a horrific factory of death theme.

5 left. And my name wasn't called yet. But before I even have a chance to breath. They begin again.

"The top 5 Tributes of the 25th Hunger Games!"

5. Cassandra with pine forests and a majestic mountain. I begin to remember how horrific would it be if Diane was the most popular.

4. Pummel with mountains laced with dangers and muttations.

3. Bash with a forest surrounding a mining quarry.

2. Pastel with a rapid changing landscape that is beautiful at day but horrific at night.

I hold my breath along with the rest of Panem.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" shouts Caesar, "Introducing the most popular Tribute of the 25th Hunger Games, Ethan Minerva, Rebel at Large!"

Now I'm just hoping that my arena is nothing like Diane or both District 1 Tributes. Images of a ruined city begin to flash on the screen. The camera flows through the barely standing buildings and catches one of them fall. It suddenly shifts to night and creatures shift across the streets. Then the advance view of my death is over.


	9. Chapter 9

The 25th Hunger Games

**Chapter 9**

I unfortunately wake up that morning. How I was able to sleep last night at all escapes me. I could be dead, flat out dead, in mere hours. In breakfast I barely even touch the food. No one, not even the Careers, seem to enjoy being in the games anymore. The factories of District 1. The quarries of District 2. The piers and boats of District 4. None of them are accompanied to a large city. And from what I could see in the video, District 3 dwarves in comparison. The Careers are still going to try. Like it or not, one of them will probably end up winning.

And as quick as the moments of my life flash before my eyes, we are on the plane heading to the arena. The Capitol finds a nice looking area and puts a forcefield around it. Then they rig it so they control everything. That's how Arenas work. So the Capitol did not build that city.

Once upon a time, many years ago, Panem didn't exist. In its place was North America. A couple of countries stood on North America. But the main one was called America. According to our history books they stood proud and strong, a fair one where the power was spread. But nature can be unforgiving. Terrible things happened. Nature's fury was unleashed. Entire cities crumbled to ashes. I am 100% sure that our arena is one of those cities. A city where everyone died in, but the shadows of the buildings remain. Shadows ready to welcome 23 more dead bodies.

I see a slight advantage for me. Raw materials will be scattered all over the place. Materials only a person from District 3 could use. There are a few other advantages, but they are all from the disadvantage of many of the other Tributes. The Careers will survive. Most of the other Tributes wont. Then the Pack will go around, hunting Tributes like rabbits. Then around the final 8, the Pack will snap and the remaining Career finishes off the remaining Tributes.

I spend the entire time on the aircraft gazing out the window, thinking of those thoughts. I had never been in the air before. That sort of thing is only for District 6 workers, who have the job of transporting everything essentially. I don't like being up in the air. What goes up must come down, whether or not it slowly lands or crashes with alarms blaring.

Our aircraft lands without a hitch. They wont let their precious Tributes die early. I'm rushed with a somber looking Luna to the launch room. She dresses me in a light jacket, made of a synthetic black material that I can't easily identify. The pants and underclothes are all the same color too. Not jet black, more of an ashy black. I find it odd that she's the one crying. But I quickly get over that and try to comfort her. I keep telling her things will turn for the better. But she refuses.

"It's not about life or death, Ethan. It's about who you are living for." She chokes out in between sobs.

_Who am I living for?_

A pleasant female voice informs me it's time to stand on the launch plate. Luna reminds me that a counter will start and at the end a gong will sound. Do not get off the plate before the gong. Keep and eye on Diane as she might be sending you signals on where to run.

"Oh and Ethan," she says barely composing herself, "You forgot your Token."

She holds up a small plush object in her hands. A Teddy Bear; Danny's Teddy Bear.

_Who am I living for?_

She places it on my left hand and reminds me to not lose it. A glass cylinder encloses the launch plate. She places her hand on the clear unbreakable tube. I suddenly remember to thank her and try thanking her from behind soundproof glass. Luna is apparently a good lip reader and smiles.

I hear a countdown begin. 60, 59, 58…

The plate begins to rise. And the question hits me again.

42, 41, 40…

The sudden light blinds me. I look up and find only clouds so the light is artificial. Soon I can get a glimpse at my surroundings. I find myself in a sports arena, one with an open roof and empty run down chairs. At least I think it's a sports arena. It's to ruined to tell. 30 seconds.

I look around the circle and catch Diane make a slight gesture towards a huge hole in the sports arena. It's one of many, and I am surprised that the thing even stands.

20, 19, 18, 17…

I look at the Cornucopia. All of the supply backpacks are lighter colored the closer they get to the center. I pick one that I'll go for, one that bears a dark shade of orange. I feel like it's the right one for me. Although I feel biased as the shade the pack takes is my favorite color.

5, 4, 3, 2… _1_

A heavy gong sounds and I launch myself off the plate. I was always a fast runner. Never knew why. I'm one of the first there. Unfortunately, Pummel is too. I hear the string of a bow tense and hear the arrow fly, barely missing my ear. I watch it lodge into the back of another Tribute. And down the District 10 girl goes.

I grab the backpack and make a swift change in movement. The dead grass at my feet provides an easier gripping for me. I'm bolting towards the giant hole. I take a quick glance at the Cornucopia. I can see the District 12 boy, lying on the ground. I see Bash look my way, eyes even redder with hate. I see him reach for a knife.

Instinct takes over and I duck. It lodges itself into the wall. I make an effort to pick it up along the way. I look outward beyond the ruined stadium and see little comfort. The rest of the place is almost the same. I see a bright purple backpack moving swiftly along the debris. It's the District 4 girl, Gabriela. I see another moving object and bolt towards it.

She lets out a yelp once I catch up to her. But relief instantly flows into her face when she sees it's me. She survived the bloodbath. Our alliance still stands. Without a word we both go in a different direction than Gabriela is going. Eventually we tire and stop around a plant covered building, far from harm. Both of us are hyperventilating. We sit around a while; I really don't feel like talking. But apparently she doesn't feel the same.

"How'd I do?" she asks smiling.

"Great, you're still breathing." I say with a chuckle. We go over our supplies. I got the knife from Bash, a canteen, a small brown container filled with something, rope, and a couple of batteries.

Diane makes off much better. Two knives, a sleeping bag, a pack of beef jerky, a few cans of food, and a suspicious vial filled with a grey shiny powder. Just as we finish the inventory check, the Cannons fire. 7 shots, 16 to go.

"Who do you think survived?" she asks as she tosses a chunk of concrete out of boredom.

"I saw the District 4 girl alive… That's all I'm sure about" I respond while I glance around the area.

"I saw Chris die first…" she says sadly.

"Is that the name of the District 10 girl?" I say, after all, Chris can be a girl name too.

"No, it's the District 12 boy." She mumbles somberly. I'm starting to wonder why she's taken such an affinity to the boy.

"He died saving me, Ethan. I was right next to a Career. He probably would have killed me if Chris didn't tackle him first." She says almost in tears, "He snapped his neck…"

Suddenly, I feel anxious, I remember one other face that I wanted to see leave the Cornucopia.

"Did Cassandra, his District partner survive?" I ask weakly. She puts my fears to rest and then we hear a rustling. We climb to the second floor of the fragile building and sneakily look out of a surprisingly intact window.

Two Tributes walk in the streets. They appear to be talking about something. I recognize them as the District 6 Tributes. Their black hair blends in with the rubble lining the streets but their pale white faces seem like a diamond among a pile of coal.

"Maybe we should ask them to join our alliance?" Diane whispers. I reply with the shake of my head. I just don't feel right about the situation.

Suddenly, I can hear the girl scream and run away pulling on the boy's arm. But the boy trips on a bit of rubble sending the pair to the ground. They stumble their way up from the ground and try to run, but it's obvious the boy broke injured his leg. The girl runs off ahead.

I turn to Diane, we're both deathly quiet and we could hear our hearts pounding in our ears. A glimpse of blond forces our gaze outside the window. And what they fear becomes obvious. The boy turns to his attackers, eyes widened with fear. And before he has enough time to scream, his head rolls around on the floor.

We both turn away from the grizzly sight. A Cannon fires, no one could survive that injury. I dare to look outside again. And watch in horror as another Career sends a spear through the screaming girls heart.

The thud of a Cannon fires, and our hearts skip a beat. Eventually a new fear over shadows the horror at their loss. Careers steps away from us. Death beyond a doorway. I grip Danny's Teddy Bear in a way you shouldn't hold something soft.

"Okay! Back to the Cornucopia." Barks a deep a menacing voice. I hear agreements and soon the sounds fade away. But even as the sun goes down, we do not dare leave our spot.


	10. Chapter 10

The 25th Hunger Games

**Chapter 10**

The dead float above us in the form of images. I glance up to the sky to settle my thoughts. Cassandra survived. I don't even know why I care about her so much, she's just one of those people I feel like I should protect. Diane and I sit pressed against the corner of this building. The cold air sends us shiver. I almost drift off to sleep. Almost.

Loud screaming fills the air, and both of our eyes widen in fear. We dash to the dirty window and dare to look outside. Children wander down the streets. At first I think they are Tributes but then I get a closer look at them. Dressed in all white they float down the street gently. Blood splattered all over their body parts. Some are missing arms or have their heads barely attached to their bodies. Others look soaked to the bone or burned beyond recognition. They all let out horrifying wails that continue longer than humanly possible.

I attempt to retreat in horror, but Diane stops me. She seems interested in the ethereal beings.

"12-18" she murmurs quietly to herself. Most of them look 12 but a few out there have obvious signs that they are older.

"Tributes," we say in unison, "Dead Tributes."

There are around 40 of them. Just walking down the street, wailing. In District 3, there is this saying, "The feared and tortured souls, send shivers down the young ones spines". It usually refers to an apparently random fear that a child develops, but the abandoned Library reveals more.

"Ghosts?" Diane asks. They don't exist, of course. But who would create a creature just for a Game.

"Mutts." I correct her, "Gamemakers made them"

"A-are they based off Tributes?" she asks almost inaudibly. The veil of light descending from the moon shines off them.

"Wanderers" I murmur. We sleepily crawl back to our corner, and ignore their screaming. First night, we're still alive.

I wake up to violent shaking and a familiar, accented voice.

"Over here Bash!" I hear. I immediately start screaming and my eyes fly open to the sight of a laughing Diane.

"Very funny…" I say, too sleepy to come back with a retort. I attempt to fall asleep.

"Come on Braniac! We need to find food and water." She says in her regular voice. I groan and get up and follow her. I look around and see bleak clouds coating the sky. Even cloudier than yesterday.

We quickly gather our things and step out from the building we hid in. Not a soul in sight, Mutt or otherwise. Trekking through the rubble becomes difficult; we barely get a mile away before we start using the vines coating buildings to cover our small wounds. Eventually, we reach some sort of intersection.

"Stop!" she yells abruptly, putting her arm out to inhibit any further movement. Her eyes dart around the cracks and rubble, "Something moved…"

Something isn't right about the intersection. It seems… sinister. I notice a single pebble move out of place, moved by something underneath the rocks.

We move around the pile and face the opposite side. A single creature surfaces. Its grimy grey fur barely shows against the same colored ash. Only it's jet black wings point out its existence. Diane picks up a medium sized rock and hurls it to the other side of the pile.

Suddenly, a whole mess of movement appears. The ratlike creatures crawl under from every rock and shard of metal. They all swarm the rock, like it's live prey. Blood starts to fly everywhere; their brethren have attacked some of their own. The disgusting sight highlights a need to run. And boy do we run.

A mile or so away we decide to climb an apartment building. The elevator is broken, and the stairs are in pieces. We climb a vine up to the roof and look around from our surroundings.

The Cornucopia sits in the distance. Well, at least the stadium is. From here we could trace the track we took so far. Behind us is the tallest skyscraper. It looks intact but chunks appear missing from the top. The Arena appears to be an island. But it seems very close to two chunks of land. But the Arena does not exceed the island. For a quivering square high up in the afternoon sky proves it.

"Hey, uh Ethan?" Diane asks looking deep into the distance.

"What? Are those rats running up the tower now?" I ask sarcastically.

She chuckles and shakes her head, "Nope. I think I found a source of water though."

She points to a giant patch of green in the center of the city. It sticks out clearly among the rubble.

"I don't see a lake from here…" I mumble and turn away from the green.

"Well what's watering the plants then?" she says as she takes a step back. Suddenly, the floor underneath our feet crumbles and we are sent screaming 2 floors down. I let out a curse as I smack against the floor. I look up and through the dust cloud I could see Diane barely hanging onto a support beam.

"Ethan! Help!" She cries out. I rush over but forget the fragile floor.

With a sickening thud I land one more floor lower, another thud and I hear a sharp gasp.

"Ethan? Ethan!" she yells at the top of her lungs. I lie in fetal position; the only thought comforting me is the knowledge of this being the ground floor.

"Down here!" I attempt to say, but the dust everywhere makes it barely a whisper.

I hear a scuttling of feet from above, and more shouting.

I slowly crawl away from the dust to assess my injuries. Besides a missing tooth and a cut across my left hand, I seem to have escaped without injury. I hear another thud and turn to Diane lying on the floor.

At first I panic and quickly check her pulse. I keep my hand in her neck for a while just to make sure she's really alive.

"Ethan! Not a good time to kiss me." She says as she coughs up dust.

"Kiss you? I was checking if you were alive!" I retort. She laughs weakly and then sits up.

"So did you die?" she asks smiling.

"No, but I'm thirsty." I say as I help her up. Surprisingly enough, she looks less hurt than I do.

I look around the room and see that we are in a kitchen on the second floor. I guess I'm bad at counting. I instinctively open the cabinets expecting food and to my surprise, there is.

"Hey Diane!" I say as I pick up the lonely can, "I found some lunch!"

It's a can of B-grade meat. The kind they send over to my District.

"Just like home…" I mumble. In the rest of the cabinets lie a jar of honey and a rotten, unrecognizable fruit. We pack the can and honey in our backpacks and descend from the building.

We arrive in the patch of green just as the sun begins to set. Hidden among the trees is a icy blue small lake. By then, I have to hold myself back from diving straight into it. We begin to eat some of the beef jerky as we sip the water. I get the idea to dip the jerky in honey. Honestly, it doesn't taste that great. But I can already imagine the Capitol Citizens doing the same just to emulate us.

We refuse to light a fire. It would obviously give out our positions to the Careers. So to forget the cold we start talking. At first we attempt to plan our further movements, but that quickly devolves to us joking about the food and making bee puns. As the sun sets, we hear a rustle. We both quickly silence and slip our weapons into our hands. Bash's serrated blade, the size of a small sword is heavier than I expect it.

The intruder lets out a small scream at the sight of us. He attempts to run away, but he quickly crashes into the person behind him. We let our guard down a little. They aren't Careers.

"Drought? What is it?" I hear a familiar voice say.

"Cassandra!?" I yell out in surprise.

I hear footsteps and I'm tackled into a big hug.

"Oh, Ethan! I was worried you died. I see you team up with your District Partner!" she says in a tone that reminds be of Luna. Diane responds with a nod.

"Diane! Ethan! This is Drought! A District 9 Tribute." She points at a surprised teenager. The first thing I notice about him is that fact that he's bald. The second thing I notice is the mace he holds.

"Drop it!" I yell in a menacing tone.

"Ethan, he's fine." Cassandra says as she blocks my line of sight from him.

"So uhh… How have your games been?" Drought asks awkwardly as he places his weapon on the ground.

"Did you hear those screaming children things?" Diane asks quietly.

"The what?" they ask in unison.

"Mutts." I say in a serious tone, "They look like mutilated Tributes of past games"

Cassandra looks at me like she isn't quite convinced. Drought looks a little less confused.

"Well if the had Mutts disguised as the trees in a forest then I guess they could have anything." He says plainly.

"Yes, last year's games were particularly gruesome…" Cassandra whispers.

"_Glacie Wellington!" _A young child from District 12 stumbles her way on-stage. Suddenly, I remember a small face get slowly submerged in the bark of a tree. She kept calling out for her Partner to free her. He just sat there and smiled.

"Wellington…" I repeat aloud. Neither Diane nor Drought seemed to have made the connection.

"So, Diane, do you want to alliance?" says Drought.

Diane glances over at me, expecting me to decide.

"Sure, Alliance of 4. We might as well call ourselves a pack now…"

We spend the rest of the night taking turns sleeping. Sometimes, we talk about the Mutts. Other times we choke out sad stories of our Districts. Diane and Drought get along fairly easily, since they both slave away at the factories of Panem. I talk more to Cassandra. I don't know why, but I feel like I could relate to her life more than I could to Diane's.

In the middle of another sad life story, all hell breaks loose.

At first, we get the feeling of being watched. Like an unseen force lurks around the out of place trees around us. The sounds pop all around us. Inhuman. Animal. But they sound like they are communicating. Like a chirping of…

"Birds…" mumbled Drought in his sleep. As if on cue, the feathered demons attack us.

"Mutts!" Cassandra screams as we pick up whatever we have near. I grab as many of our backpacks as I could hold. Pure panic fills the campsite. Cassandra and I dash as far away from the epicenter as possible. Diane heads off in another direction.

They look like doves. But their beaks filled with teeth prove their mutt status. They have the talons of a falcon and seem to be communicating through their incoherent chirps.

I slash at the air with my knife, taking down any that stray close to the blade. Loud screaming fills the air. A cannon booms scaring the birds and us. Most flee, but a few stay behind to pick at the dead body. A few slashes of a knife sends them away from the victim.

The body is mangled. Holes where eyes would be and organs should be. Leaking matter flows freely from the brain. Organs spill from every hole.

"Ethan!" Cassandra calls out from behind. She stands next to another figure lying on the ground. It takes a few seconds for me to put two and two together. But once I do, I rush straight over.

Diane lies on the ground clutching a torn up arm. Cassandra pulls gauze from her backpack and places it on the large hold in Diane's arm. Diane's screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Diane! Calm down!" Cassandra yells. I feel voiceless. Unable to make a single sound out of shock. Bam! It happened so quickly. The Gamemakers felt bored, and with a press of the button they killed off a Tribute and left another one horribly injured.

"Diane! You'll attract Careers!" Cassandra shouts as she tries to cover her mouth. After a few minutes of muffled screaming, Diane seemed to have calmed down. Well, a quick pulse check proves that she's calm, not dead.

A loud clang sound from behind us as Cassandra withdraws her hand. A metal claw descends from the large aircraft above. And with a loud whir, Drought is gone.


End file.
